Blind
by prometheus246
Summary: Drunken antics and a crazy idea from Daniel give Sam and Jack an opportunity to be honest with each other. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Just Playing.**

**Pairing: Jack/Sam**

**Rating: T**

**Season: Mid-season 7 (before Pete) (somewhere around Space Race or Birthright)**

**Spoilers: Hints at D+C **

**Summary: Drunken antics and a crazy idea from Daniel give Jack and Sam opportunity to be honest with each other. Oneshot.**

**Blind.**

"Come on Sam it's an experience. Just to see if you could cope."

"I've already been blind Daniel, on Apophis's ship, years ago remember?"

Daniel huffed and folded his arms looking as determined as he could manage after 2 beers.

"That doesn't count it was only for a couple of minutes."

Sam in her partially drunken state couldn't help giggling at his serious face.

"Okay, so supposing I hypo...thicly agreed to be blindfolded to see if I could manage being blind, how long do I have to stay like that? I have loadsa work on Monday y'know"

"Just until you wake up tomorrow morning." Daniel assured her.

All four of them had decided to spend their weekend downtime chilling out together as a group of friends instead of as colleagues. They had spent the morning playing a game of football on the back lawn of Jack's house where they were all staying, because he was the only one who had room. The game had quickly dissolved into anarchy when Jack tried to play without the rules; Daniel got more and more bruised, Sam couldn't stop giggling for the life of her and Teal'c couldn't quite find the right balance between doing nothing in fear of hurting his friends and throwing himself into the game with gusto, at Jack's cajoling. After their afternoon of exercise, Teal'c and the Jack had left about a half hour hour ago to fetch pizza. This left Sam and Daniel in the house with nothing but a crate of beer for nourishment.

Since then Sam and Daniel had cleaned up the mud on the deck; made coffee; finished unpacking for the weekend; put the case of beer in the fridge to chill; gotten bored and started drinking the beer. Daniel had started telling Sam about all the fascinating things people lost behind there couch cushions and in a fit of curiosity had begun digging in Jack's couch, in true drunken archaeologist style.

Sam had been apprehensive about digging behind her Commanding officer's couch cushions but Daniel had fetched her her third beer and she had soon agreed to help him out.

The pile on the floor had grown:

A 3 of clubs playing card; 4 beer bottle caps; The insert from a Simpsons DVD; a battery; a yo-yo; a tube of super glue and finally a long strip of black cloth which Sam suspected was part of the inside of the couch itself. Daniel had suddenly decided it would be great to blindfold Sam and make her experience life as a blind person for a while and now it seemed that she was on the verge of agreeing.

"What if there's an emergency on base?"

"Well, obviously you can take it off for that!" Sam began to feel sorry for her friend and gave up pulling his strings.

"OK Daniel, I'll try it for a bit but I'm not promising how long ok?"

By the look of glee on Daniel's face you would think he had discovered the missing link in the evolutionary chain.

"Great!"

SG-1SG-1SG-1SG-1SG-1SG-1

Jack kicked open his front door, hopping on the spot while trying to keep the door open for Teal'c, who's arms were full with a crate of Guinness.

"Dinner's here!" Since the living room was empty, he assumed his other two team mates were either in the bedrooms or in the back yard . Moments later Daniel appeared from the back yard and behind him, Sam was walking slowly, her hands outstretched against the counter and the wall, on either side of her; fingers lightly dancing along the surfaces as she found her way blindfolded toward them. Jack eyed the archaeologist with his head cocked on one side. "Daniel--?"

Daniel raised his hand to stop Jack's question.

"Give her a second." his sentence was followed by a fit of unexpected giggles as he turned back to watch Sam move across the living room floor toward the three men. Jack noticed that both were wavering quite significantly.

"Carter?" She was stood in front of him now

"Sir?" Like Daniel, she giggled but it was a short, sweet sound that made Jack's heart skip. Her hands were resting on the counter beside them but she moved them, reaching blindly in front of her until her fingers brushed his chest. She could feel his heart beating underneath his t-shirt as she raised her hands to his face. She traced his jawline, following the familiar lines of the face she loved but had never touched in this way. Her breath was quick and shallow. This wasn't allowed; wasn't appropriate but she didn't want to stop.

Jack couldn't tear his eyes away from her face. He wished he could see her eyes, but even blindfolded, she was beautiful. There was a look of utter fascination on her face and it made him want to hold her and never let go. He wanted to be able to touch her face she way she was but had no excuse.

Daniel watched the two sharing a moment and silently congratulated himself. This was right for them, it was a glimpse of what they both needed so badly but were unable to have without giving up their life's work. There were times he hated the air force for what it did to his two friends. He stole a glance at Teal'c who was also watching the almost-couple with a bittersweet expression on his face. Teal'c met Daniel's gaze and nodded silently in acknowledgment of Daniel's "achievement".

"Ahem" Daniel drew the attention of everyone in the room who could see. Sam's fingers ceased there gentle caress of Jack's face. _Well, that was awkward. _Daniel thought. Jack hauled himself from the daze he had been in to realise that he was stood in his kitchen, standing too close to his 2IC with her hands on his face. He stepped back.

"Yeah Carter it's me. Good to know you'll be able to recognise me should you ever get blinded offworld." It was meant as a joke to lighten the atmosphere but came out harsh and bitter. Sam forced a dry laugh.

"Yes Colonel."

She stepped back. Putting yet more distance between them. The tension between them was more than painfully obvious to their two companions and Daniel kicked himself.

"Carter what're you doing?" Jack managed to sound as though the situation was funny.

Daniel decided that for the sake of his health he should rescue Sam.

"She's blindfolded until tomorrow morning. It's a test to see how she would manage without her sight."

"Ok...Daniel, I know you get weird when you've been drinking but Carter..why are you going along with this?" This time he was glad to hear Sam's laugh was genuine. _Much better._

They shared out the huge amount of pizza they had bought and Jack was quick to make up for the head start Sam and Daniel had had on the beer. By midnight they were all much less steady on their feet and in much higher spirits. Poker had ended with Sam throwing her cards in Jack's vague direction once she figured out he was taking advantage of her "blindness" to sneak peeks at her cards. There were now cards scattered around the living room; empty beer bottles all over the coffee table.

Daniel sat sideways across an armchair, cradling a beer and giggling quietly at a joke Jack had cracked 20 minutes earlier. Sam, Teal'c and Jack were nowhere near as far gone as Daniel and were discussing favourite missions from the past few years. Somehow, during the evening Sam had found herself sat on the floor leaning her back against Jacks legs as he sat on the couch, the contact was nice and she hadn't moved since. Jack once again found himself unable to take his eyes off her. She was smiling brightly and reminiscing animatedly, he was sure her eyes would be sparkling if he could see them and the best the was : she couldn't catch him staring.

A loud snore interrupted his thoughts, followed by a small giggle from Sam- Jack clenched his teeth against the feeling of her moving slightly against his leg. He glanced over to the drooling Daniel where he was now passed out in his chair.

"I guess that's Daniel's way of telling us to call it a night." Sam giggled again. The sound was addictive. He should get her drunk more often. He smile down at the back of her head put stopped smiling when he caught his dark friends knowing look.

"Carter, think you can find your way to your room alone?" _That sounded suggestive. _

"Yes sir, I think so. Goodnight. Goodnight Teal'c."

"Goodnight Major Carter."

"Night Carter." She left the room slowly, her hands out to the sides to find any walls or obstacles until she reached the hall. He watched her out of sight before turning back to –Teal'cs Knowing look again. _ Damn that man was creepy sometimes._

"Probably shouldn't leave Danny-boy out here, He'll spend all day tomorrow complaining of an aching neck."

Teal'c still did not move so Jack moved to Daniel and hauled him off the seat with one of the younger man's arms around his shoulders. Teal'c finally relinquished his gaze and took Daniel's other arm and between them they dragged him off to bed.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

Hours later and Sam was still awake. She couldn't get the earlier...encounter out of her head. The feel of his skin, his heartbeat, the loud silence between them, the scent of him so close to her-within her physical grasp but still held so far away from her that it drove her insane. She wondered if the vague feelings he had admitted to having for her were still there; wondered whether they had ever been anything like the way she felt about him. She needed him.

His behavior over the last year had done nothing to make her think that he still felt the way he used to. She gazed at the black inside of her blindfold, images of the moments from their time as CO and 2IC, when she had felt...something ,between them, bombarding her memory and driving any chance of sleep out of the window.

Jack was tossing and turning in his own bed. Unable to block the feeling of her fingers on his face. Whenever he closed his eyes all he could see were her beautiful blue eyes staring at him, with that dazzling smile. He clung to the memories of the few times he had seen her properly smiling and happy. Whenever he managed to drift into light sleep his dreams taunted him. In his dreams, she smiled all the time, because of him.

He came home at the end of a hard day and she followed him from his truck into the house, where they greeted a young woman holding a baby girl. The woman left and Sam held the baby close to her, whispering to her and stroking her tuft of blond hair softly. Jack watched, a smile on his face despite the crappy day he'd had. Sam was smiling when she looked up at him. Moving forward he kissed the top of the baby's head, she smiled up at him, proudly displaying her two teeth. Jack's heart soared, looking into the stunning eyes his daughter shared with her mother. Cupping the back of her head he kissed Sam deeply. Life was perfect—until he woke again.

It was a familiar dream and every time he woke, feeling more lonely than when he had gone to sleep. He groaned and rolled over to hide his face in the pillows. He was doomed to spend the rest of his life dreaming of a woman he couldn't have; who probably didn't want him. There were moments, but nothing concrete. He needed to tell her how he felt and this time there was a difference when waking from his dream. She was here, in his house, across the hall, blind.

Sam rolled over when she felt his presence in the room. Why would he be here? It couldn't be Daniel or Teal'c, her body simply didn't react this way to them.

"Sir?" A hand touched her face, tracing her jawline in a way that was definitely reminiscent of her earlier actions.

"No Sam..." She gasped. He was so close to her, she knew it was Jack but couldn't say his name. Without her knowing who he was, she could never be guilty of knowingly...fraternising. She felt his warm breath on her face seconds before his lips touched hers. After a few tentative caresses he pulled away and she had to bite back a moan of displeasure.

"Jack..." he cut her off with a finger to her lips. She cursed the wretched blindfold, that was stopping her from seeing his face but it was her only way of staying connected to him right now. Instead she raised her hands to his face again, fingers lightly dancing across his skin, trying to picture how he must look. She could feel that he was almost smiling, while he leaned into her touch. She moved her hands to his bare chest, feeling the rapid beat of is heart against her palm. _Did she really have that kind of effect on him? _

Jack closed his eyes and ran his hand through her hair.

"Sam I--" This time it was her turn to silence him. Kissing him hard she shifted to press closer against him. He wrapped his arms around her, trying, desperately to lock the feeling of her into his memory.

Once she lay back on the sheets, pulling him with her, he had lost all thoughts of anything apart from the wonderful things she was doing to him. His hands beneath her camisole drove the last inhibitions from Sam's mind while they concentrated on showing, through actions, exactly what they meant to each other.

Laying in his arms, in the dark, several hours later, she still could not see his face. But, she heard him whisper "I love you," before they both fell fully asleep.

SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1

When Sam woke, the first thing she saw was the black inside of a blindfold. _"Just until you wake up tomorrow morning."_ Shifting slightly, she felt the warm body curled against her back and the arms wrapped around her waist and sighed – completely content. Turning over, she snuggled closer against his chest before raising a hand to pull the black cloth from over her eyes, but a hand stopped her.

"If you do that, you can never pretend that this didn't happen. You can never say that you didn't know it was me."

"And why would I want to do that? Last night was the best thing that's ever happened to me, how could I pretend it didn't happen?"

"I just didn't want you to end up regretting it. You can still go away thinking this was nothing"

"I could never do that."

"There'll be no going back and if anybody finds out, there'll be hell to pay."

He was almost taken aback by the vehemence in her voice when she replied.

"I don't _care!" _She jerked the blindfold off over her head, throwing it onto the floor. Turning back to face him, she saw the smile on his face and could do nothing but kiss him.

Settling back to lay beside him she sighed happily and turned so she could see his face. She was shocked to see that he looked...sad. "What?"

"We can't do this again, you know that right?"

"We can do this again...once earth is safe and one or both of us is allowed to retire, till then...I'll wait."

"I can't ask you to wait for me Sam, it could be years. One of us could be killed before that happens."

"Jack, listen to me. I'll wait. I love you and I would rather have you late than never. Last night'll have to last me until we can find a way past the regulations. If one of us dies at least I'll know that you knew how I felt; that I was yours. I promise" Jack stared at her for several moments.

"OK, Sam, consider this a promise, a commitment. I'll wait; I'll stare at your gorgeous ass when people aren't looking; I'll think inappropriately about you when I'm bored in briefings." She giggled into his neck "and as soon as there's a gap in the regs, I'll make this work." He took the hand resting on his chest and kissed her fingers. "But I'd better go before Danny or T decides to walk in and find us like this." He rolled to the edge of the bed pulled on his sweatpants, which had landed across the bedside table.

Turning back to the bed, he gazed down at Sam, she was half asleep again, her blond hair adorably ruffled. He knelt beside her and brushing hair off her face, lifted her head with both hands until their lips met. She responded gently, running her hands up his bare back and winding her fingers into his short hair. When he pulled away, it struck him how difficult it would be to leave her, but the look in her beautiful eyes told him two things: Why they still had to fight and that she loved him.

He strode to the door, stopping with his back to her. He wasn't sure if he could keep his resolve if he looked back at her but knew that he couldn't walk out without looking back. She was smiling at him, her eyes already half closed and he laughed. "Go back to sleep Sam."

He jogged down the hall to the bathroom and quickly hopped in the shower. He was under no illusions that it would be easy to keep his hands off Sam for however long it took to defeat all the dastardly bad guys out there, but at least now he knew that she loved him, he knew that he would love her for the rest of his life, he knew that, luck withstanding, they would eventually be together and he knew where Sam Carter's mole was. Life was good.

**AN I'm not sure how well I've done with this concept. I know it's somewhat out of character for Sam and Jack to use such a lame excuse to get it together but I always thought that what they really needed to break all the tension and anguish was just one night and a promise of more. I think it came off quite sappy. If you like that, that's great, if not...just let me know what you thought either way. K?**


End file.
